Historical Background Adolf Hitler’s decision to invade the Soviet Union was, at first, considered a very wise decision; the operation seemed to have a good chance of succeeding (Rees). By the summer of 1940, Hitler had been victorious in France; however, he now faced a difficult decision. The British had not done what Hitler had expected of them--they had refused to make peace with Germany and continued to fight. Nevertheless, Great Britain was a location that was not easily attacked. The English Channel separated the United Kingdom from the rest of Europe, and Germany was not a sea power. In addition, Britain possessed neither the raw materials or space that Hitler craved to add to the growing German Empire. Furthermore, a direct conflict with the British would create a enemy with a country that Hitler never
German soldiers stationed in Stalingrad (December 1942).
intended. Rather than attack Britain, Hitler decided that a swift invasion of the USSR, despite the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, was the best way to go. Hubert Menzel, a major in the General Operations Department of the German Army Headquarters, realized that the best time to strike was immediately. “We knew that
in two years’ time, that is by the end of 1942, beginning of 1943, the English would be ready, the Americans would be ready, the Russians would be ready too, and then we would have to deal with all three of them at the same time...We had to try to remove the greatest threat from the east...At the time it seemed possible” (Rees).
Invasion Begins
With this in mind, the Germans swarmed into the USSR in the summer of 1941, with plans to occupy Moscow by October. To accomplish this, the Germans employed their Blitzkrieg tactic. Soviet cities were completely bombard by German troops, who left a trail of devastation in their wake. 150,000 Soviet soldiers were killed in the first week of the German invasion (Rees).
It was in the spring of 1942 that Hitler set into motion the two-pronged offensive that he hoped to be the final campaign on the Eastern Front. Hitler appointed General Friedrich Paulus, who was the Commander of the 6th Army, to lead the charge to capture Stalingrad. This city was a major industrial center, and it controlled the rail and waterway communications for southern USSR making a victory very vital for Hitler.
As the summer of 1942 approached, Paulus began to move toward Stalingrad. “In the early summer of 1942 the German southern line ran from Orël southward east of Kursk, through Belgorod, and east of Kharkov down to the loop of the Soviet salient opposite Izyum, beyond which it veered southeastward to Taganrog, on the northern coast of the Sea of Azov” (“World War II” 28). Unfortunately, soon, Paulus realized that fuel was short. He was not given top priority, so, by the end of July, his troops were brought to a halt. He couldn't continue until the 7th of August and, while he was waiting, the Luftwaffe (the generic German word for “air force”) bombed the city. As the march toward Stalingrad advanced, the Germans killed 50,000 Soviet soldiers, but were, again, stopped by insufficient supplies on August 18th. At this point, the German troops were only 35 miles outside of Stalingrad (Simkin).
When more equipment finally arrived, Paulus decided to move forward only a small group of soldiers, called the XIV Panzer corps. The remainder of the troops moved up to circle around the city. From this point, Paulus decided to wait until September 7th to launch his attack.
German soldiers use a tank cannon in a street camp in Stalingrad (September 1942).
Bombing Begins
However, on August 23, “one thousand airplanes began to drop incendiary bombs on Stalingrad. In that city of 600,000 people, there were many wooden buildings, gas tanks and fuel tanks for industries. Stalingrad was heavily hit by air attack; one raid of 600 planes started vast fires and killed 40,000 civilians” (Stalingrad). General Chuikov described the German attack: “That morning you could not hear the separate shots or explosions; the whole merged into one continuous deafening roar”(Stalingrad defines urban war).
Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin quickly drafted a million more men and increased the number of tanks and air crafts being produced. Stalin also put General Georgi Zhukov, a man who had never been defeated, in charge of protecting Stalingrad.
As the Germans pushed forward into the outskirts of the city, violent fighting broke out. The Germans’ advance was slow-going, since they had to fight for control of each building. There was very little long range shooting, once the troops got deeper into the city. The Germans had difficulties with all the obstacles, since “the tanks were less effective in a fortified urban area as it involved house-to-house fighting with rifles, pistols, machine-guns, and hand-grenades. The Germans had particular problems with cleverly camouflaged artillery positions and machine-gun nests. The Soviets also made good use of sniper detachments deployed in the bombed out buildings in the city” (Simkin).
Finally, despite all of these setbacks, the Germans were able to push forward to the center of the city. In spite of the continued street fighting, the Germans raised their swastika flag over the governments buildings, located in the Red Square, on September 26th. It appeared that the Germans would win the Battle of Stalingrad and the Soviets would lose a key city.
Stalin had an important decision to make and so do you. Click on the link below to view the options.
Adolf Hitler’s decision to invade the Soviet Union was, at first, considered a very wise decision; the operation seemed to have a good chance of succeeding (Rees). By the summer of 1940, Hitler had been victorious in France; however, he now faced a difficult decision. The British had not done what Hitler had expected of them--they had refused to make peace with Germany and continued to fight. Nevertheless, Great Britain was a location that was not easily attacked. The English Channel separated the United Kingdom from the rest of Europe, and Germany was not a sea power. In addition, Britain possessed neither the raw materials or space that Hitler craved to add to the growing German Empire. Furthermore, a direct conflict with the British would create a enemy with a country that Hitler never
in two years’ time, that is by the end of 1942, beginning of 1943, the English would be ready, the Americans would be ready, the Russians would be ready too, and then we would have to deal with all three of them at the same time...We had to try to remove the greatest threat from the east...At the time it seemed possible” (Rees).
Invasion Begins
With this in mind, the Germans swarmed into the USSR in the summer of 1941, with plans to occupy Moscow by October. To accomplish this, the Germans employed their Blitzkrieg tactic. Soviet cities were completely bombard by German troops, who left a trail of devastation in their wake. 150,000 Soviet soldiers were killed in the first week of the German invasion (Rees).
It was in the spring of 1942 that Hitler set into motion the two-pronged offensive that he hoped to be the final campaign on the Eastern Front. Hitler appointed General Friedrich Paulus, who was the Commander of the 6th Army, to lead the charge to capture Stalingrad. This city was a major industrial center, and it controlled the rail and waterway communications for southern USSR making a victory very vital for Hitler.
As the summer of 1942 approached, Paulus began to move toward Stalingrad. “In the early summer of 1942 the German southern line ran from Orël southward east of Kursk, through Belgorod, and east of Kharkov down to the loop of the Soviet salient opposite Izyum, beyond which it veered southeastward to Taganrog, on the northern coast of the Sea of Azov” (“World War II” 28). Unfortunately, soon, Paulus realized that fuel was short. He was not given top priority, so, by the end of July, his troops were brought to a halt. He couldn't continue until the 7th of August and, while he was waiting, the Luftwaffe (the generic German word for “air force”) bombed the city. As the march toward Stalingrad advanced, the Germans killed 50,000 Soviet soldiers, but were, again, stopped by insufficient supplies on August 18th. At this point, the German troops were only 35 miles outside of Stalingrad (Simkin).
When more equipment finally arrived, Paulus decided to move forward only a small group of soldiers, called the XIV Panzer corps. The remainder of the troops moved up to circle around the city. From this point, Paulus decided to wait until September 7th to launch his attack.
However, on August 23, “one thousand airplanes began to drop incendiary bombs on Stalingrad. In that city of 600,000 people, there were many wooden buildings, gas tanks and fuel tanks for industries. Stalingrad was heavily hit by air attack; one raid of 600 planes started vast fires and killed 40,000 civilians” (Stalingrad). General Chuikov described the German attack: “That morning you could not hear the separate shots or explosions; the whole merged into one continuous deafening roar”(Stalingrad defines urban war).
Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin quickly drafted a million more men and increased the number of tanks and air crafts being produced. Stalin also put General Georgi Zhukov, a man who had never been defeated, in charge of protecting Stalingrad.
As the Germans pushed forward into the outskirts of the city, violent fighting broke out. The Germans’ advance was slow-going, since they had to fight for control of each building. There was very little long range shooting, once the troops got deeper into the city. The Germans had difficulties with all the obstacles, since “the tanks were less effective in a fortified urban area as it involved house-to-house fighting with rifles, pistols, machine-guns, and hand-grenades. The Germans had particular problems with cleverly camouflaged artillery positions and machine-gun nests. The Soviets also made good use of sniper detachments deployed in the bombed out buildings in the city” (Simkin).
Finally, despite all of these setbacks, the Germans were able to push forward to the center of the city. In spite of the continued street fighting, the Germans raised their swastika flag over the governments buildings, located in the Red Square, on September 26th. It appeared that the Germans would win the Battle of Stalingrad and the Soviets would lose a key city.
Stalin had an important decision to make and so do you. Click on the link below to view the options.
The Decision